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I have been bothered by my birthmarks for the longest time ever, other than my single eyelids. I never understood the beauty of having a double eyelids until recently, but the birthmarks… they have caused me loads of embarrassment ever since I was young.

I have about 3 birthmarks on my body, apart from my moles (well, they said ‘moley’ girls are pretty girls, isn’t it? HAHA!).

Actually the main concern is the HUGEASS birthmark located on my left inner thigh.

And because of that, I have tried to avoid wearing shorts, but even during Physical Education (PE) lessons during my schooling days, it was tough to hide it.

Till now, I am extremely self-conscious of this gigantic birthmark although some have commented, “don’t fix what is not broken/it’s not life-threatening what/it’s not ugly what/thank god it’s not on your face” etc.

EXCUSE ME.

It’s my body and it’s on me.

You don’t have such a huge visible blemish on you and you don’t experience all the embarrassment I had to all these coming 26 years.

If god permits, how about I donate these birthmarks to you? Pfft.

Anyway, if you had read my New Year Resolutions, you would have known that I’ve miraculously managed to secure a sponsorship stint for the laser treatments!

I headed to get my birth marks laser-ed last Friday and I cannot wait to share the results with you guys! This laser treatment, which is the latest technology available, also helps reduce/lighten freckles/pigmentation problems/tattoos! I shall contain my excitement for now and will be blogging about the treatment soon so stay tuned! 😉

Today’s post is gonna be on some cream that claims to cure hyperpigmentation and yes, it has claimed to have lightened birthmarks (!!!).

Before I managed to secure the sponsorship deal, I was fretting over my birthmarks and how to lighten/remove them using a lesser invasive method that offers no pain at all.

I did my research and chanced upon this website called Civant Skincare which is the official website that sells Meladerm® and because there seems to be some fraudulent websites going round claiming to sell authentic Meladerm®, I’d decided to take the plunge to purchase it from Civant.

Also, because the product is from the US, I decided not to take the risk and opted for a secured shipping method which simply translates to more money spent! I opted for USPS Priority International that takes about 1 – 2 weeks to arrive with online tracking. Had to pay an additional amount of $24.99, on top of the $49.99. And mind you, these are all in USD!!! So I had actually paid approx SGD$100+??

Sigh, so much hopes. And like they say, the higher your expectations are, the higher your level of disappointment will be.

And I think it’s true.

Although I must first disclaim that in all fairness to this product, I have not been using it consistently. By that I mean that I have not been applying it twice daily due to forgetfulness (sign of ageing!) or over the weekends where I stay over my bf’s place, I didn’t have it with me (forgot to bring it along – another ageing sign…)

But I have been applying it on several occasions now and I think it’s ready for a review.

Here’s the product.

A small portable bottle with a nozzle.

The texture is not oily or too rich/heavy and I like it that way.The absorbency rate is also quite high, which simply means that you need not wait for a long time before it gets absorbed. This is especially important if you have to apply it on your face before your make-up, so that it does not cake.

There is no weird scent as well but a slight fragrance, nothing too overwhelming.

As for the effects, I am quite disappointed to say that till date, I have not seen any improvements. I had thought I saw some lightened parts but I may be thinking too much. On the whole, my birth marks did not lighten at all, not even for the one which is the lightest/faintest in colour.

But then again, it may not have worked because :

I did not religiously apply it twice a day, daily.

Effects can only be see after long-term usage and by that I mean a few months’ usage as claimed via testimonials on Civant’s website.

But since I have started my laser treatments for my birth marks, I do hope they are removed or significantly reduced which I pin high hopes in because of the raves of this latest laser technology as well as the popularity of the aesthetic clinic I visited. So in the mean time, I guess I can still apply Meladerm on them.

I was currently using Nivea Extra Whitening Cell Repair Protect Body Milk as well as the Night Whitening Body Milk only before deciding to try Vaseline.

This review would solely be based on the Vaseline Instant Fair Whitening Lotion and in my next related post, I’ll review both Vaseline and Nivea, striking a comparison between both!

So looks like this :

Anyway, mine looks slightly different – ‘instant’ instead of ‘insta’ – and I have no idea why?

Got mine from Watsons though.

The colour is pink – which I personally think is abit gross? LOL

Blending :

After blending :

Here are the pros and cons :

Pros

I’m not too sure if it does help to lighten generally and gradually but I do see a tinge of lighter shade after applying – well, it’s ‘instant fair’ isn’t it? But not as exaggerating as the pic above shows.

Not oily and doesn’t leave any residue thereafter

Fragrant smell – not overwhelming

Absorbs rather fast and well

Cons

Gross pink colour? LOL

I realised that after awhile, like when I apply in the morning, my skin tends to get dry in the afternoon or by evening time which is obvious because I can see dry skin attempting to flake. I think it must be caused by this lotion because I don’t have dry, itchy or sensitive skin to begin with and secondly, I have never encountered this problem with Nivea lotions before.

I have heard of Royale Beauty Kojic Papaya Soap some time back but didn’t really get down on my foot to try it. Achieving fair porcelain skin is one of every girl’s dream and this soap is said to help diminish dark areas, eliminate melasma and freckles, remove pimples and lighten the skin. The soap is also proven to rejuvenate and nourish the skin by holding back the formation of melanin.

Kojic Papaya Soap contains a complete mixture of active and powerful ingredients making it a very effective soap in moisturizing, whitening and lightening the skin. Unlike other soaps, Kojic Papaya is safe and does not contain any side effects that can worsen skin problems. In fact, it can treat the following skin issues:

Sun spots

Acne or pimples

Body acne

Freckles

Skin blisters

Psoriasis

Eczema

Rashes

Hyper pigmentation

Scars

Keratosis Pilaris

I have been wanting to achieve a fairer skin tone (who doesn’t?) for quite a while now and because of the lack of sun block application, I became a shade darker whenever I run for events. A major epic moment for a beauty blogger I know, so I bear that in mind whenever I go for runs now.

I got mine from this seller on Qoo10 at $10 including normal postage fees.

Delivery maybe took about a week? Was expecting a shorter delivery time after reading the reviews but nope, that wasn’t the case.

But I guess 1 week is still acceptable.

I’m a little wary about the effects of this soap because I have read reviews stating that it causes a tingling sensation and would cause mild peeling of the skin because one of the main function is for exfoliating purposes.

I don’t have sensitive skin but I did a patch testing on my right backhand first before applying my whole body. No weird feeling so I proceeded to lather it on my whole body.

I skipped my face for the first attempt though, fearing it would cause massive destruction to my face. You know how important face is to girls. 😉

I tried on my face on the second time round and so far, no sensitivity/allergy.

It was very well-packed. Seller also included a brochure but didn’t manage to snap a pic.

To show case how thick the bar of soap is.

Now, for my review after using it twice.

Of course, nothing is ever magical and even if the claimed effects are immediately prominent, it might only be a temporary thing.

I understand that many girls who have tried this soap, mentioned that a month would be a good gauge as our skin takes about 28 days to renew itself?

Anyway, here are the pros and cons:-

Pros

No allergy but be careful not to let it come into contact to your vjj. I experienced a little tingling and itchy sensation down there, most probably because this soap is acidic and our vjjs are alkaline? Whatever it is, try avoiding getting the soap to be in contact with sensitive areas such as your eyes as well. Read reviews that they sting your eyes….so be careful!

Skin felt a little smoother perhaps due to its exfoliating effects

No peeling effect – is the product not working well? Other girls mentioned that peeling effects would mean that the soap is working effectively.

Cons

Skin feels tight and dry, especially on the face after using the soap. This is normal though, just be sure to apply moisturiser after that.

Tingling feel at sensitive areas as mentioned above.

I’m not a soap bar person because I hate lathering it on my body. I prefer the contemporary body wash style.

Some girls complained about the smell and that it smells like puked payaya. It does smell like payaya, but I guess the ‘puke’ part is somehow still acceptable for me. Not that pungent.

As mentioned, I will continue to use it to analyse its effects. Hopefully it can help to bring my skin tone a shade or two lighter and also lighten my scars and freckles. Will snap pictures of before and after to provide a more comprehensive and detailed review! 🙂

Lightened 1 of my pimple scar which was recent on my left cheek (Sorry no pics for comparison but trust me on this)

Even has flaps for the eyelids

Cons :

Pungent alcohol smell!

There weren’t much remaining essence left in the pack compared to other masks

Overall rating :

***

On an another note, y skin’s condition seems to be worsening recently and I’m not too sure of the reason. It has its ‘dry periods’ whereby the skin on my nose will peel for no apparent reason. Thus, the only logical reason I could think of was due to hormones. Yeah, blame everything on the hormones, lol.

Other than that, my chin and mouth areas seem to be clogged with dirt, hence producing white heads. And when these white heads are provoke, i.e. me trying to squeeze them out or by merely poking them, I would break out the next day. This causes acne, which is extremely embarrassing.

I don’t usually break out for no reason because my skin condition is quite good, relatively.

I’m not sure if it’s caused by the skinbotics which I’d blogged about here, or the SK II stem cell cream I’d used for a few days, excessive consumption of coffee or the lack of sleep/late nights? Maybe it’s the lack of exercise.

No idea man, but whatever it is, I’m always breaking out at my chin areas. See pictures here.

Caught up with some friends of ours and had Ramen Ten at Far East Plaza.

I had the chicken ramen illustrated as the 1st pic. Was looking for seafood ramen that is not spicy but they only had tomyum soup-based one and I didn’t bother asking them if I could change the soup-base to a non-spicy one, so don’t quote me. You can still try asking them. 🙂

But despite not taking any spicy food, I had a major pain in the ass (pun intended + literally) diarrhea that very same night. Thankfully it was after our movie – GI Joe! I wouldn’t be looking forward to running to and fro to the toilet and wasting my $$ away.

The soup was not bad and it’s the first thing I would test and try out first in almost every soupy dish! I am a HUGE fan of soupy stuffs 🙂

I had a sip of bf’s tom yum seafood ramen. It tasted okay but I doubt I would be able to handle it if I were to take a few more sips.

By the way, if you’re all in for action-packed thrillers, then GI Joe is MUST-WATCH for you! 🙂

***

Received loads of beauty stuffs from My Fat Pocket for my contribution as their Beauty Writer. Check out my beauty articles at their Beauty column 🙂

One of the beauty product received made me jump for joy! There were many stuffs that I’ve been wanting to try out but brushed aside because of the hefty price.

One of which is Skinbiotics – Skin lightening and Regeneration!

I’ve read many awesome and positive reviews about these pills and I can’t wait to see the results myself! Till date, it’s my 4th day on the pills now 🙂

By the way, the pills are quite big so those who have problems swallowing huge-ass pills, you may wish to take note before purchasing. It’s sold for $138-$148 at convenience stores. There are 3 different types of Skinbiotics pills.

And just for the benefit for my readers, here’s the summary info on the other 2 types.

I might just get another bottle to meet the 8-week requirement because 1 bottle contains only 50 soft gels and 2 gels a day means that a bottle would last for approx 25 days? Not even a month and it’s so expensive to get them! 😦

I will review on the results again in maybe 2 weeks into it but will definitely do so when I’ve completed 1 bottle of it. So stay tuned! 🙂

***

Attended a media event for Tian Po’s new launch of their Hearts On Fire ILLA collection:)

It’s also my FIRST media event invitation ever since I’ve started blogging. I’ve had few other media invitations but they either clash with my other appointments or they are held during office hours. 😦

Will be blogging about the Tian Po’s media event soon. Saw some other MFP bloggers there as well 🙂

Received some thank-you gifts from Tian Po as well.

One of which is :

I know right, such a HUGE-ASS diamond ring!!!

It’s actually a key-ring holder la, but just thought it was quite hilarious that I can’t even close my fingers together :p

So yes, am not advertising for them, neither was it a sponsorship. It was a prize and a really worthy one. Worthy enough to be featured and raved about on my blog! 🙂

Directions to use :

Spray 2 to 3 pumps/spitz about 20-30cm away from your face directly.

Use it on a cleansed face and before applying make up. I still have no courage to spray on after applying make-up for the fear of clogging and cake-ing my foundation. But applying it before really helps alot!

My steps :

1. Cleanse face

2. Apply toner (you can skip if you want to – for now I am experimenting whether applying toner is beneficial for my own skin, although I did write up a blog post previously which affirmed otherwise. I will revert back to my toner regime if my skin condition worsens).

3. Apply essence/serum (you may skip this if you have oily skin) – wait for it to dry and absorb

4. Spray on the facial mist (2 to 3 times) – wait for it to dry and absorb

5. Apply moisturiser – wait for it to dry and absorb

6. Apply your make-up

With this facial mist inculcated into my skin care regime and before my make-up application, I find lesser need to touch up on my make-up throughout the day. In addition, my face looks dewy and radiant, with the matt look. I really love it because my T-zone doesn’t produce that much sebum/oil anymore.

Do you know why pores produce sebum/oil on its own? One of the main reasons is because of the lack of moisture and hence, the skin has to regulate the moisture content by producing natural oil.

So, if you use proper skincare for your skin type as well as moisturise/hydrate yourself adequately, you will tend to see less oil being produced.

I’m quite sure you can spray on after your make-up application, just to constantly moisturise and brighten your skin.

Sunnanz doesn’t sell them because it’s a limited edition product, so I guess I was lucky! Will drop by Sasa one of these days to check it out! 🙂

*Remember to always let whatever you applied on your face to set, dry and be absorbed first before applying your make-up, to prevent any caking. Don’t rush into it or you might have to remove your make-up and redo from the start again.

ENJOY YOUR LOVELY NEW SKIN! 😀 ❤

***

Psst, I am also trying out Skin&Lab’s Vita Energy Toner & Mist. I am using it as a mist first as mentioned that I am skipping the toner step for experiment purposes for the time being.